Baked Oatmeal Bars

Once a week we have friends over for breakfast, so I'm always on the lookout for delicious, easy breakfast recipes for large groups. These Baked Oatmeal Bars have become my latest go to recipe, esp if I've forgotten to plan something ahead of time, because we always have oatmeal on hand.

I apologize that this is a TERRIBLE picture. Taking the pic was kind of an afterthought in the middle of eating that morning.

The very first time I made this, it didn't really get set, so it was more kind of a semi-set, really thick oatmeal (which also still tasted good). After several tries and tweaks, I finally got it to come out in cut pieces this last time I made it. Three things contributed to this:

1. I used more oatmeal than the recipe calls for (I think because you can only typically find quick oats and not whole oats in India, they don't absorb as much liquid. If you have whole oats you may not have to do this).

2. I used slightly less milk.

3. I cooked it on the stovetop until it was REALLY thick before baking, and baked it for longer in the oven than the recipe called for.

My recipe below reflects all of my adjustments.

Even if you aren't cooking for a crowd, this would still be a great recipe to make and then refrigerate or even maybe freeze pieces of it for quick breakfast throughout the week. You could potentially even bake the mixture in individual muffin cups (ooo, now there's an idea!!).

I also omit the raisins that the original recipe calls for, because I personally detest them. But feel free to stir raisins into the oatmeal mixture after it's thickened. Or, my friend Laura made this once with chopped dried cranberries and chopped walnuts on top instead of chocolate chips. Let your imagination run wild! I'm just a chocaholic. 

Baked Oatmeal Bars

Original Recipe

3 1/2 cups of oats

5 cups of milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup of chocolate chips

(1 cup of raisins, if you like that sort of thing)

Combine the oats, milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, and beaten eggs in a LARGE pot. Mix well and cook the mixture over medium/medium low heat, stirring frequently. My most successful times making this are when I've allowed it to cook on the stove for at least 30 minutes. 

Once the mixture is extremely thick, spread into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top.

Bake at 170 degrees Celsius (350 F) for 40-50 minutes, until set. Allow to cool for just a few minutes before serving.

Whole Wheat and Oat Pancakes

So, my very first recipe posted on this blog was for Basic Pancakes. I made hundreds of them the first year and a half we were in India.

I have a confession...I haven't made them a single time so far. Because I'm obsessed with this new recipe, that I've made 5 or 6 times already in the 3.5 weeks we've been here.

I'm in love with this new pancake recipe, because it feels super healthy with the whole wheat, very little sugar, and using dahi instead of butter. The oats add an extra heartiness that fill you up a little more. And the hint of cinnamon gives such good flavor - normally I'm a die hard peanut butter on pancakes eater, but I like the flavor of these so much that I've been using regular old butter on them. They're real winners!! 

I hope you make them, and I hope you love them!

Whole Wheat and Oat Pancakes

Original Recipe

1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)

1/2 cups oats

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 cup milk

2 TBS brown sugar

1/4 cup dahi (Greek yogurt)

1 tsp vanilla

Combine the atta, oats, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

In a separate smaller bowl, whisk the egg, milk, brown sugar, dahi, and vanilla together.

Pour the wet ingredients slowly into the dry, and whisk JUST until combined. Don't over mix, or you'll wind up with dense, tough pancakes, especially since these use whole wheat flour.

Heat a greased griddle to medium low heat and pour about 1/3 cup of batter per pancake. Cook a couple of minutes on first side or until lots of bubbles start to pop on the surface. Flip, and cook another 1-2 minutes or until done. Make 7-8 pancakes.

Breakfast Burritos - to Eat or Freeze

So since dealing with pregnancy "morning" sickness (aka anytime of day nausea), eating in the mornings is a process for me. I have to eat something immediately when I wake up, or it's a quick downward spiral to feeling terrible. But I usually can't eat very much, because I'm already feeling a little borderline nauseous. So I eat a little, and then an hour or so later, eat a little more. Slowly my stomach wakes up, and by about 10:00 in the morning my stomach is ready to actually eat something substantial. The kids are always super active by this point though, so pausing to make eggs or pancakes or whatever isn't always feasible. 

So I decided to give frozen breakfast burritos a try in order to have something readily available in just a few minutes. I have yet to actually try thawing these out yet, so here's hoping it goes well (a website I read suggested wrapping it in a wet paper towel and microwaving for 2-3 minutes on 50% power).

This recipe is totally a copycat of a Pioneer Woman episode I watched, minus the sausage/bacon/ham whatever meat it was she put in them, since that's difficult to get good quality here. My burritos included eggs, cheese, and a great breakfast potato mix. Here's the lineup:

Breakfast Burritos

6 eggs

Splash of milk

4-5 small potatoes

1/3 of a red pepper, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

Tortillas

Shredded cheese

1-2 TBS olive oil

Salt & pepper

1. Bake the potatoes. Prick with a fork, and bake for 45-60 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (400 F).

2. Meanwhile, chop the onion and red pepper.

3. Remove the potatoes from the oven and coarsely chop.

4. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat, and sautee the onions and red peppers for 2-3 minutes or until they start to soften. Even if they start getting a little browned/crispy, don't freak out, they'll taste great. 

5. Add the potatoes to the skillet and give them a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper, Give them a stir around to mix with the onions/peppers, and then use a spatula to press them down and flatten them in the pan. Leave them alone and let them do their browning thing for 4-5 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, milk, and some salt and pepper together. Spray a separate skillet with cooking spray, and add the eggs.

7. Return to your potatoes, and flip all of them over. The side that was facing down should be nice and brown and crispy by now. If not, turn your heat up just a little bit. Press the potatoes down again so the second side can get all crispy.

8. Back to the eggs. Scramble them to your desired doneness. In the last minute sprinkle in some cheese so they get all cheesy melty.

9. Time to assemble. Turn off your burners so you don't burn anything. Put a tortilla on a plate, then add a scoop of eggs, and a scoop of potatoes. Sprinkle with a little extra cheese for good measure.

After taking this picture, I realized there was too much filling to wrap this tortilla up, so I had to take a bite. Oh darn.

10. Fold both sides in, and then roll the burrito over, trying to keep all the filling inside.

After I got done filling 6 tortillas, I was out of eggs, but still had a big spoonful of potatoes leftover. So I had to eat those. Oh darn again.

Instructions to freeze:

Line all your rolled burritos on a baking sheet, seam side down.

Put the tray in the freezer for about an hour (which was not easy in my tiny, already packed freezer, let me tell ya).

Then take the burritos out, and wrap each one individually with plastic wrap. Place in a Ziplock bag and back into the freezer they go!

Biscuits and Gravy

This is big news, everyone. My genius friend, Alex, just changed the world for me, and several of my American friends living throughout India.

She figured out how to make homemade sausage gravy.

In the land of no pork sausage, and only frozen chicken links/patties that are varying degrees of gag worthy, I had resigned myself to the fact that biscuits and gravy was a luxury to be enjoyed when we were back home in America only.

Until today!

This was such a simple, easy way to make homemade "sausage", and really, it tasted almost exactly like traditional pork sausage from the U.S. 

Take note you need to mix up the sausage the night before in order for the spices to have time to flavor the meat (or in the morning, I suppose, if you're doing biscuits and gravy for dinner. That's a good idea, right there). 

When I looked in my grocery store here, I didn't see any sage. I happened to have a friend in America for the week for a wedding and coming back, so I had her bring me some. However, online I saw that you can substitute poultry seasoning, rosemary, marjoram, or savory if you can't find sage.

Click here for my super easy biscuits recipe.

Sausage Gravy

From Queen Alex :)

1 pkg of chicken keema (ground chicken - the packages I buy are in 450 grams)

Sage

Oregano

Ground Fennel (called Saunf in India)

Salt & Pepper

A few TBS of vegetable oil

1/4-1/3 cup flour

A few cups of milk

The night before you're cooking, put the chicken keema into a big mixing bowl. Add in the sage, oregano, and ground fennel, starting with about a heaping tablespoon of each one. Add a few pinchfuls of salt and pepper. Mix well. If it doesn't look or smell "sausagey" enough, add a little bit more of the spices. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When you're ready to make your gravy, pour a few tablespoons of vegetable oil into a pan over medium heat. Don't try to be health conscious and skip the oil here - you need it as the substitute for the grease that normal pork sausage usually releases as it cooks, which forms the base for the gravy part. 

Add the chicken keema, and cook until chicken is cooked through and browned. Stir in 1/4 cup of flour; add more if necessary. You want the flour to soak up the additional grease and kind of cover all of the ground chicken. The flour is what's going to add thickness to the gravy, so don't skimp. After the flour is well mixed into the chicken, start pouring in milk. Sorry, I have no measurements for this; I just dump in. Pour in a few cups of milk and stir till it starts thickening. Continue adding more milk till it's the amount and consistency that you like in gravy. 

Season the gravy with additional salt and pepper if needed. Or for an extra punch of flavor add some seasoning salt or Cajun seasoning (I added a little Cajun seasoning...yum). 

Serve hot over biscuits.

Welcome to the good life! We all owe Alex our firstborn child or something now. 

Cinnamon Crumb Cake

Have you ever indulged in the cinnamon coffee cake from Starbucks before? Delicious, isn't it?

This is better.

I mean, this is unbelievably good. Every Sunday morning we have all of our colleagues over for breakfast, and this is definitely one of their favorite recipes I make (every week they claim whatever I make is their favorite, but really I think this gets the most votes). There are certainly never any leftovers. 

It is fluffy, perfectly moist, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamony amazingness. {leave me alone, red squiggly line spell check}

And the best part is, it's not even that hard to make! Props (as always) to Pinterest for introducing me to this beautifully scrape-every-crumb-from-the-pan recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. 

Cinnamon Crumb Cake

Original Recipe

2 cups flour (maida)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup Dahi (Greek yogurt)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar (sometimes I just use 1/4 cup if I'm feeling stingy with my brown sugar)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (350 degrees F)

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar. Beat until well combined and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well (the better you mix these together in this step, the fluffier your cake will turn out!)

Slowly mix in the dry ingredients to the batter until just combined. Fold in the Dahi until combined.

Mix the topping in a separate bowl.

Pour half of the batter into a greased 9x9 pan (or equivalent size), or a bundt pan. Sprinkle half of the topping mixture over the batter. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the topping mixture, and then top with the remaining sugar mixture. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Best served warm out of the oven! (or reheated in the microwave, if you miraculously have any left). 

The Easiest Banana Muffins

Once upon a time, I went on a quest to find a good banana bread recipe. I tried so many different ones, but none seemed right. Some didn't taste enough like banana, some were too dense, others required extra ingredients like sour cream but still didn't taste right, and I began to despair of ever finding the perfect recipe.

Then one day, in the summer of 2011, I went to India for the first time.

And my friend Amanda made me her banana bread.

And I knew, I had found the one. THE one. 

And here it is...the simplest, easiest, most delicious banana bread (or muffins, in this case).

Easiest Banana Muffins

Original Recipe

3 ripe bananas, mashed (If the bananas are kind of small, I use 4. I recommend NOT using the stumpy little banana variety though...they're too starchy and not sweet enough).

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

2 cups of flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more...)

In a large bowl, mix the vegetable oil, sugar, and egg together. Add mashed bananas. Then add the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop into 12 greased muffin tins or into a greased 9x9 baking dish or bread pan.

Bake at 170 degrees C (350 degrees F) for 20-25 minutes for muffins, or 40-45 minutes in a pan, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

I also love to make a batch of these (since bananas go bad quickly here so I seem to always have overripe bananas) and then wrap them with cling wrap, put them in a Ziplock freezer bag, and freeze them to have on mornings when I need a little something sweet with my coffee. Take them out of the freezer and microwave for about 30 seconds.

Thank you, Amanda, for changing my life ;)

Basic Pancakes

I thought it was only fitting that the first "Cooking In India Recipe" I share be the one I've made the most frequently since we arrived.

Pancakes.

I could not even begin to tell you the number of these pancakes I've turned out. When we first arrived, we had 3 other friends in the city with us (plus 2 small children!), and life was a little overwhelming. Once Kyle and I got moved into our flat, we went through the process of getting a propane tank to hook up to the incredible four burner cooktop he got me. It took several days, so after multiple weeks of eating out for every meal (or eating peanut butter sandwiches), we celebrated the arrival of our propane tanks by making pancakes. 

The first couple of times I made pancakes I used a recipe that my friend Christina (one of the 3 here with us) got from her grandma. They tasted really good, but they were really complicated, required buttermilk, and I just couldn't quite get them perfect. So I searched for an easy, basic pancake recipe and fell in love. 

Now I make these often just for our family to have for breakfast (or dinner) or frequently I'll make them when all of our friends (now 9!) come over for breakfast on Sunday mornings. (I make a quadruple batch when I'm feeding everyone...see why I can't count the number I've made??)
One of the things I love about India is that their whole wheat flour - Atta - is so much better than the whole wheat flour I used back home! It's much finer so you don't quite notice the difference as much. I used it once in this recipe and have never looked back - it makes the pancakes perfectly fluffy and practically health food with all those Whole Grains.

Even if you're living in America, you should give these a try! After making them so many times and loving them so much, even when we're back in the U.S. I still will probably make these instead of converting back to Bisquick! Here's my India version of this recipe:

I like to make a nice thick batter for fluffier pancakes!

See the fluffiness?

Basic Pancakes

Link to original recipe

1 1/2 cups flour - I recommend using Atta instead of Maida

3 TBS sugar

1 TBS baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick melted butter (cut the big cube of butter into 4 sticks, then one stick in half)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

250 ml of milk (this is slightly less than the original recipe calls for. It calls for 1 1/4 cups, but I've found the 250 ml mark on my Indian liquid measuring cup makes the perfect consistency of pancakes. This would probably be 1 1/8 cup if you're in America)

In one bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients (atta, sugar, baking powder, salt) and in a separate bowl, melt your butter. Microwave your milk for about 30 seconds to bring it closer to room temperature, then add your milk, eggs and vanilla to the melted butter and whisk until well mixed. Slowly whisk in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined- try not to over mix.

Then you know the drill - pour the prepared batter onto a hot griddle and allow it to cook until little bubbles start popping in the tops of the pancake, and then flip to finish cooking.

I like to top them with a little spread of peanut butter for added flavor (and protein?). So do most of our friends here, which means we go through a lot of peanut butter on Sunday mornings! We've been able to find pancake syrup in the import section, for a high (but worth it!) price.

Enjoy!